Theory of Rise and Fall History of Post-war Japanese Economy (1945-2004)

Author: Sun Zhizhong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: This book primarily focuses on the major turning points in the post-war 60-year economic history of Japan. Over the 60 years after the war, the Japanese economy achieved unprecedented rapid growth, but during its development, it experienced various stages of fluctuation, with alternating periods of prosperity and recession: In 1968, Japan suddenly became the world's second-largest economic power. However, under the impact of the second oil crisis in 1974, production declined to varying degrees in capitalist countries worldwide, with Japan suffering the greatest impact, leading to the most severe economic crisis after the war. Some Japanese scholars referred to it as the "Third Japanese Calamity." By the late 1970s, when the second surge in oil prices occurred, economic crises were triggered in capitalist countries, including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Italy, but Japan alone avoided this crisis. It did not experience a decline for six consecutive months or an annual decline. This was mainly due to the Japanese government's decisive preventive measures, such as maximizing efforts to conserve oil consumption, particularly by reducing fuel consumption in products and enhancing their competitiveness, thereby expanding exports. By 1985, Japan had become the world's largest creditor nation, but at the same time, in the latter half of the 1980s, Japan fell into an unprecedentedly severe bubble economy. Starting in 1991, Japan's bubble economy burst, and the economy fell into a long-term recession, which was the longest recession in the history of global economic crises. During the recession, after discussions in academia, the Japanese government found a steady path to withdraw, so Japan did not experience the extreme ups and downs seen in the historical period of 1929–1933 during this time. This book primarily focuses on the major turning points in the post-war 60-year economic history of Japan. Over the 60 years after the war, the Japanese economy achieved unprecedented rapid growth, but during its development, it experienced various stages of fluctuation, with alternating periods of prosperity and recession: In 1968, Japan suddenly became the world's second-largest economic power. However, under the impact of the second oil crisis in 1974, production declined to varying degrees in capitalist countries worldwide, with Japan suffering the greatest impact, leading to the most severe economic crisis after the war. Some Japanese scholars referred to it as the "Third Japanese Calamity." By the late 1970s, when the second surge in oil prices occurred, economic crises were triggered in capitalist countries, including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Italy, but Japan alone avoided this crisis. It did not experience a decline for six consecutive months or an annual decline. This was mainly due to the Japanese government's decisive preventive measures, such as maximizing efforts to conserve oil consumption, particularly by reducing fuel consumption in products and enhancing their competitiveness, thereby expanding exports. By 1985, Japan had become the world's largest creditor nation, but at the same time, in the latter half of the 1980s, Japan fell into an unprecedentedly severe bubble economy. Starting in 1991, Japan's bubble economy burst, and the economy fell into a long-term recession, which was the longest recession in the history of global economic crises. During the recession, after discussions in academia, the Japanese government found a steady path to withdraw, so Japan did not experience the extreme ups and downs seen in the historical period of 1929–1933 during this time.